| Region | |
|---|---|
| Subregion | France > Bordeaux > Left Bank > Pessac-Léognan |
| Colour | Red |
| Type | Still |
This much respected property in Pessac-Léognan is run with great care by Olivier Bernard whose family took it over from Claude Ricard in 1983. During the 1980s and 1990s there was a major programme of replanting here and since the early 2000s, with the vines reaching maturity, the quality here has returned to that of the great vintages of the 1940s and 1950s. Without doubt, the best vintages of Chevalier are the most recent ones. Domaine de Chevalier performs brilliantly every year now and is a regular star of our blind tastings. It wins its flight at the blind "Southwold" tasting with impressive regularity. However, prices have remained reasonable. This is always one of our best-selling wines en primeur.
The 2020 Domaine de Chevalier is a touch more tightly wound than the brilliant 2019 out of the gates, but it seems likely to equal that vintage with a bit of time. Unwinding in the glass with aromas of minty blackberries and cassis mingled with notions of burning embers, spices, rose petals and orange rind, it's medium to full-bodied, fleshy and concentrated, with a deep core of fruit, powdery structuring tannins and a long, saline finish. As I wrote last year, this estate in recent vintages has arrived at a sort of stylistic contemporary classicism that evokes the great wines of yesteryear from this address, and the 2020 continues that trend. 2028 - 2060
The 2020 Domaine de Chevalier has a refined and understated nose, well-defined with blackberry, briar, gravel and earth. Sensual in style, it gradually unfurls in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with saturated tannins and a little creaminess toward the back end, but there is still decent structure here. Give this four to five years in bottle—the class shines through. Tasted blind at the annual Southwold tasting. 2028 - 2055
Iron, black mushroom and dark berry with some burnt orange peel. Flowers, too. It’s full-bodied with round tannins that turn linear and tight at the end. Excellent energy. Brightness and purity.
The 2020 Domaine de Chevalier Rouge is a blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot, and 5% Cabernet Franc. Deep garnet-purple in color, it charges out of the gate with pronounced notes of blackcurrant cordial, juicy blackberries, and mossy tree bark, giving way to notes of licorice, crushed rocks, and pencil lead. The medium to full-bodied palate is taut with muscular black fruits and mineral accents, framed by firm, grainy tannins and oodles of freshness, finishing long and perfumed.
Exactly as you hope to find a great Bordeaux at this stage, still very much firm in its tannic structure, rippled with clear cinammon, turmeric and black pepper notes alongside creamy cassis, blackberry, bilberry, cigar box, smoked earth. A brilliant Chevalier. 38hl/h yield.
Full bottle 1,360 g, Cask sample taken 6 April. 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot.
Spicy nose. Pretty saline and mineral on the palate – non flashy but with lots locked in there. And no shortage at all of tannin but it's ripe enough. Very much a work in progress but with a certain lusciousness of embryonic fruit. 13.5%
Drink 2030 – 2050
The 2020 is a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot that will be aged in barrel for 18 months. Deep ruby colour. Ripe, juicy cherry, plum and cassis on the nose. The palate follows, with toasty red and black fruit. Silky, ripe tannins bring a full but ripe structure to the wine. Persistent and juicy through to the finish.
(65% CS, 27% M, 5% PV, 3% CF; 38hl/ha; 13.5% ABV; 35% new)
Dense, tight, closed at present, but mineral, persistent, and fine to smell; rich but restrained, vital in acidity, very fine in tannin; a refined, poised, classy wine, long across the palate, packed with fresh, ripe red fruit, subtly infused with gravel aromas, graceful and very persistent. Another very fine Domaine de Chevalier red. 2028–50+.
The 2020 Domaine de Chevalier has a concentrated, well-defined bouquet with blackberry, raspberry, tobacco, hickory and wild hedgerow. Touches of pressed iris flower surface with aeration. Generous, yet it maintains ample delineation. The palate is medium-bodied with sappy black fruit, white pepper and touches of tobacco, very fine depth, focused and perhaps a little more muscular than other vintages with a sapid finish that is surprising given the growing season. Superb.
The 2020 Domaine de Chevalier, which was cropped at 38hl/ha, is deep purple with glints of blue. The bouquet is very clean, precise and focused, not dissimilar to the impressive Malartic Lagravière that I tasted alongside, touches of wet granite and truffle emerging with time. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grained tannins. This Domaine de Chevalier has a deeply impressive structure counterbalanced by equally impressive freshness and elegance, fanning out wonderfully on the finish, which is very persistent. Just a shade off the outstanding 2019... perhaps. 2026 - 2058
Medium to deep garnet-purple in color, the 2020 Domaine de Chevalier comes skipping out of the glass with energetic scents of ripe red and black currants, fresh blackberries and boysenberries, plus nuances of wild sage, cloves and cedar with a waft of lavender. The medium to full-bodied palate surprises and delights with an unexpected richness and depth that remains locked away on the nose, revealing layers of fragrant earth and floral notions framed by fantastic freshness and firm, finely grained tannins, finishing with the most gorgeous, long-lingering perfume. Drink 2026-2053.
Exactly as you hope to find a great Bordeaux at this stage, still very much firm in its tannic structure, rippled with clear cinammon, turmeric and black pepper notes alongside creamy cassis, blackberry, bilberry, cigar box, smoked earth. A brilliant Chevalier. 38hl/h yield.
Concentrated ruby red colour, a little subdued on the nose, built with structure and power, concentrated and should age well. Classical, powerful, not exuberant, an impressive Chevalier that has tannins and fruit and freshness, nothing shouting too loud. As it opens, you see a peony floral edge that is very attractive. Easily among the best in Pessac. A yield of 38hl/ha.
Drinking Window 2027 - 2042
